Bid to sell crystal stone as diamond; 3 held

TIRUCHY: Karur police on Friday arrested three persons who were attempting to sell ordinary crystal stone as a precious diamond which costs around Rs 150 crore.

On April 23, a group of three persons who were later identified as DK Lakshmanan (34) and P Manickam (47) both from Dindigul and P Manivel (44) from Kulithalai in Karur approached M Manoj Krishnan (31) from Coimbatore at Manavadi in Karur had shown him a stone and claimed that it was a precious diamond worth Rs 150 crore and offered him at much lower price.

Manoj Krishnan raised doubts about the genuineness of the stone and so the trio gave him the stone and asked him to check.

Manoj Krishnan, meanwhile, showed the stone to his relative Priya from Chennai who was accompanying him and she told him that it was an ordinary stone and not a precious one.

Subsequently, Manoj returned the stone and expressed his unwillingness to buy the stone. But the trio threatened him of dire consequences if he did not buy the stone.

Later, Manoj Krishnan approached the Velliyanai police and complained. Based on the complaint, the police registered a case and traced the trio and checked the stone in their possession.

The police found that it was an ordinary crystal stone and arrested them. Further investigations are on.